Arrested oil thieves don't even know who they work for, says Navy chief

Eight suspected oil thieves paraded at the Nigeria Navy Ship, Pathfinder yard in Rumuolumeni, near Port Harcourt on Monday. Photo credit: NNS Pathfinder

The Chief of the Naval Staff, Idi Abbas, has revealed that the real architects of crude oil theft remain largely out of reach of security agencies, while those arrested are often low-level operatives with limited knowledge of the wider criminal network.

The Chief of the Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Idi AbbasPhoto: Nigerian Army

Speaking on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Friday, Vice Admiral Abbas said the structure of oil theft syndicates is deliberately complex, making prosecution and intelligence tracking particularly difficult.

“Most of the faces behind these thefts are not really known or are not the ones we always catch. The ones we get at most of the illegal refinery sites are just being given some paltry sum, while the big masquerades are the ones that make the real money,” he said.